Untapped Potential

The next day came, and it was pretty much the same as it always was. Kizou went out with Grandpa to get wood, helped Dax with his swords, and assisted the shopkeeper with their deliveries. While doing these tasks, Kizou became super excited at realizing that today was the day that he was going to learn what affinity he was.

Once he finished his duties, he ran down to the river and saw Tomiko practicing strikes with her sword.

“So, when am I going to learn how to fight with a sword?” Kizou asked impatiently.

“You haven’t even found your affinity yet, student,” Tomiko said as she hit Kizou on top of his head. “We will practice tomorrow.”

“Fine, fine. We can do it the long way,” Kizou said as he rubbed his head.

“Okay, I actually brought a few things with me that I put over there,” Tomiko said as she pointed behind her.

“What’d you bring?” Kizou asked as he tried to look behind her.

“Just some items to assist you in finding your element,” Tomiko said with her arms crossed.

Why would Tomiko have all of these things on her? Kizou thought to himself.

“Thank you, Ms. Tomiko,” Kizou said as he started bowing towards her out of appreciation.

“Now my student, it is time!” Tomiko exclaimed as she brought out the first item.

“Is that a magical device that contains the destructive power of water?!” Kizou asked with his eyes shining brightly.

“No, it’s just a canteen,” Tomiko answered as she looked at him oddly.

“Ahhhh,” Kizou said with his eyes still shining.

“I want to let you know that even though you know what magic is,” Tomiko said. “You still must be able to get a feel.”

“A feel, huh?” Kizou said.

“Now, I want you to explode this canteen,” Tomiko said.

“Explode it?!” Kizou exclaimed. “How do I explode a canteen?”

“Didn’t I just say to feel it?!” Tomiko said in annoyance.

“Teachers can’t get impatient with their students,” Kizou answered. “It’s not healthy.”

“Fine,” Tomiko said. “Just point your hand out to it and squeeze.”

Kizou pointed his hand towards the canteen that Tomiko was holding just a few feet away from him.

“Just squeeze,” Kizou muttered calmly as he closed his eyes. “Just squeeze.”

Suddenly, Tomiko felt a huge pressure swirling within the canteen and was honestly surprised that there was some movement. It didn’t end up exploding.

Looks like his affinity is water, but it’s not that strong yet to explode the canteen, Tomiko said with a smirk on his face. I’ll pretend that he doesn’t have any just to make him cry.

Kizou opened his eyes to find Tomiko laughing to herself and rubbing her hands together. Tomiko looked up at Kizou and cleared her throat.

“Looks like it’s not water,” Tomiko said.

“Aweee,” Kizou said with his face down.

“Don’t worry my student, we still have more to find out,” Tomiko said.

She grabbed two sticks and started making a tiny fire in front of them for Kizou to test his fire affinity.

“Is that a magical device that summons the destructive power of an inferno?” Kizou asked with his eyes shining brightly.

“No, I’m just using sticks to make a small campfire,” Tomiko answered as she looked at him oddly again.

“Ahhh,” Kizou said with eyes still shining.

“Now, I want you to stick your hand out and make it larger,” Tomiko said.

“Bigger fire,” Kizou said as he pointed his hand towards the small campfire. “Bigger fire.”

Well, I better tell him that it didn’t work, Tomiko thought to herself.

Suddenly, the flame increased but only for a brief moment. Tomiko looked at the fire and back at Kizou.

Wait, there’s no way, Tomiko thought to herself.

“Wow, looks like it’s not fire either,” Kizou said disappointingly.

“Y-Yeah, you’re right,” Tomiko stuttered.

Just a fluke, it had to be, Tomiko thought to herself.

She went to grab the next item which was a little plant that hasn't bloomed yet.

“Is that a magical device that summons a tree that can grow out legs and fight alongside you?” Kizou asked with his eyes growing bright.

“Okay, that one didn’t even make sense,” Tomiko answered angrily. 

She was partly frustrated that there was a possibility that Kizou could use two elements which was something she couldn’t even do.

“Do I just squeeze this one as well?” Kizou asked.

“Yeah,” Tomiko answered as she watched closely.

“Squeeze,” Kizou said as pointed his hand out with his eyes closed. “Squeeze.”

A little bump popped up, but it didn’t end up growing at all. Tomiko couldn’t believe her eyes.

Bluff, right? Tomiko thought to herself as she started becoming more and more nervous.

“Nothing again?” Kizou asked. “Maybe I’m not trying hard enough.”

At this point, Tomiko brought out all of her items, because she wanted to test something out. While the previous items were regular items that could be found anywhere, the next items were stored in the weirdest containers that Kizou had never seen before.

Wait, I’ve never seen those items around the village, Kizou thought to himself. Those don’t even look like normal items.

“Before you ask if these are magical devices that unleash chaos to the world, they’re not,” Tomiko said as she started preparing everything one by one. “They are magical devices, though.”

Kizou’s hand instantly went down, but his excitement could still be shown on his face.

“Let’s try out lightning,” Tomiko said as she held out a bottle of lightning.

“Squeeze,” Kizou said as he pointed his hand out with his eyes closed. “Squeeze.”

The lightning didn’t move this time, so there were definitely some elements that Kizou couldn’t control. She rushed over to all the equipment.

“Let’s try ice,” Tomiko said.

“Squeeze,” Kizou said.

“Earth!” Tomiko yelled

“Squeeze!” Kizou yelled back.

Tomiko got all of her different bottles that were filled with multiple elements and was able to see which elements he had potential to control.

Every single bottle had some form of element in it, Kizou thought to himself. Just how?

Fire stood up at the top as the strongest followed by water, ice, and nature. While these were the basic elements, there were so many different forms of magic that Kizou had the potential of using.

This is crazy, Tomiko thought to herself. Does he really have the potential to be a Chariot?

“What if I’m not just gifted?” Kizou asked sadly. “And you’re working this hard for my sake.”

Tomiko stopped thinking about her own jealousy and looked at Kizou who seemed to be trying so hard.

“I wasn’t being completely honest with you,” Tomiko said as her resolve changed. “I was able to find your affinities.”

“Affinities?” Kizou asked after realizing it meant more than one.

“Yes, it is fire, water, ice, and nature,” Tomiko said, almost defeated.

“Yes! I’m not a failure,” Kizou yelled as he realized he had some talent.

“But don’t get so big headed,” Tomiko said with a smile after seeing the excitement that Kizou had. “Well that’s enough training for today, since you’re probably tired from trying to find your affinity.”

“Yes, Ms. Tomiko,” Kizou said as he saluted and started walking back up to the village.

While both of them waved and smiled towards each other, they both had questions that were now stuck in their head.

How was someone around my age able to get all those materials while living in a village like this? Kizou thought to himself.

When was the last time someone could handle so many elements? Tomiko thought to herself.

As a matter of fact, her whole family seems odd and gives off a weird vibe, Kizou thought to himself.

He did fall from the sky into a river, right? Tomiko thought to herself.

Well, I should be grateful that she’s been helping me for so long, Kizou thought to himself to try to get rid of the speculations.

He has been a good student and following along with whatever I say, Tomiko thought to herself.

However, there was just one question that stuck into both of their minds that didn’t want to go away.